Solas Remembers
by chaosfay
Summary: A combination of canon and head-canon regarding the relationship between my female Dalish Inquisitor and Solas after the final battle in Dragon Age: Inquisition. I cried when I saw the end of the game, and cried again as I wrote this. Hopefully you'll find it as moving.


As much as everyone was celebrating the victory over Corypheaus, Ghanima was alone. She couldn't be around that happiness, that relief. Not now. The one she wanted to celebrate it with had left before she could say good-bye. He was there, and then he wasn't. She put on a smile for the crowd; there was no reason to ruin the festivities for everyone else.

Leliana saw right through it, as did Iron Bull. They left her alone during the feast, but later they found her walking alone along the ramparts, gazing out over the horizon. As Leliana approached her she saw the tears streaking down Ghanima's face. The elf made no effort to hide her emotions now. Everyone else was either drunk, asleep, or enjoying the company of another. All it took was Leliana taking the smaller woman into her arms for her to simply break. She cried freely now, inconsolable, screaming and yelling in anger and grief.

After several weeks of searching Leliana had made no progress in finding Solas. He had simply vanished. What she had found was the ruins of a village in the location the man had provided. It had long since been taken by time, ancient and gone. Ghanima was as shocked by this as Leliana.

She soon took to wearing looser clothing, and those who had remained with her in Skyhold simply attributed this to her wanting to be more comfortable. Perhaps she care to make herself more socially presentable all things considered. When her usual habits took a drastic turn, along with her emotional changes, the reason became more obvious. Her advisors all but forced her to remain behind while others took over her duties outside the keep.

She didn't return to her clan, but they eventually found their way to her. Ghanima had trained to become the next Keeper, and soon would be needed. Old age and the stress of the long journey were taking a toll on the current Keeper. Still, she refused to leave. They thought it was due to her now advanced pregnancy, which in itself was a surprise to the Keeper; they had received no word about her being with child.

The pregnancy was hard on her. The midwife among her clan had determined she was due with twins. The father of her child wasn't there to support her, to comfort her, and from the looks of things wouldn't be there for the birth of their children.

Labor was harder than the pregnancy. It took nearly a full day, her advisors and companions waiting anxiously for news as they kept themselves busy or distracted around Skyhold. Ghanima had refused all offers of aid from them, wanting only the Keeper, midwife and assistants present. Her screams echoed through the halls, making it more than a little difficult for anyone to stay focused on any task they had set before themselves.

Her friends took turns remaining by the door of her chambers, ready to run and share whatever news the Keeper had. The sun was rising when the door finally opened to a very worried Varric. Ghanima survived the birth as did both her children. Varric quickly told every person he passed, making no attempt at keeping the tears of joy and relief at bay.

Over the next few months Sera, Vivienne, and Leliana left. Leliana was reluctant, but the Sunburst Throne could no longer be avoided. Sera was more than a little relieved about leaving, having tired of the twins. Vivienne, though she loved the little girls dearly, felt it was necessary to help put things in as much order as was possible with Leliana as Divine.

Ghanima's Keeper passed away just a month after the birth of the newest clan members. She was Keeper now, and refused to leave. It took a great deal of adjustment, but the Lavellan clan remained with her. She taught them, and her daughters, the truth of things. She shared her stories, her experiences, her choices, one of which was choosing not to drink from the Well. Much of what she taught them went against everything they had been taught, but they accepted her words.

Her daughters, no, their daughters, grew up in Skyhold. They learned everything they could from their mother, much of it now written by their mother. No more oral teachings that could easily be changed or forgotten. They grew up without the fear of their magic, of spirits, of the Fade. Both powerful mages they were both taught under the careful eye of their mother, as well as Dorian and Vivienne when they chose to visit.

More elves arrived at Skyhold over the years, both city and Dalish. Ghanima made it abundantly clearn they were all one people, not separate or less worthy of one another. Many chose to stay, others making a pilgrimage of the trip to Skyhold.

Years passed, and still Ghanima refused to leave more than necessary. She spoke of Solas returning, and for a while it left many worried she was in denial of his never returning. Her daughters knew her reasons, as did those closest to her. When she passed away they cremated her in Skyhold, her ashed placed under a new tree in the garden. A tree often seen the alienages within human cities, though this one was young, knew, and brought in as a sapling when word of her death spread.

Generations passed, her descendants keeping Skyhold strong. The walls were rebuilt, the fortifications made stronger than ever before. Ghanima had spent much of her time working with Varric and her other companions to get everything written down, and now these books were studied. Ghanima was treated as much as a historical figure as she was a legend.

Solas returned to the sight of statues of her now erected in her memory, each of them with a wolf by her side in one fashion or another. It brought him to his knees. Skyhold was a bustling community, and seeing people kneel before the various statues was nothing new. No one questioned him about crying so openly. Thinking him a pilgrim he was offered a room. He took it happily, eager to see what the Fade had to offer him now. He had expected to arrive to an empty keep, void of people.

He saw her. He saw her life after his leaving. She never told him she was pregnant. He saw their daughters, their grandchildren, and their descendants. He saw her work and wept with regret. No spirit could bring him the comfort he needed. Solas had left her, thinking it best, and saw now what it had done to her. She was strong for everyone else, but alone in her chambers she wept often. He saw her on the balcony, listened to her talking to the wind as though speaking to him. Yes, she spoke to him, hoping that one day he'd return to her.

Solas went to the tree, now large and having long since taken the garden. Pots filled with growing plants hung from its branches. Like so many others present he was on his knees, touching the tree, touching her. The Fade and the tree were all that was left to him. He wept loudly, openly, and those present took their leave. They had heard the stories of her lover, of the one the Dalish had for so long called the Dread Wolf. He was in her books, in drawings, paintings, and his own paintings had been preserved in his room. This man looked too much like him, acted as though he had truly lost something.

He mourned for her as he had for no other. The memory of Ghanima was all he had left, here and in the Fade. It had been so long there was no way of knowing if the woman he saw in their was truly her or just a memory of her. Solas remained there for several weeks, teaching a select few about the Fade. That few grew to many, and scribes wrote down every word he spoke.

Then he was gone.

Years later a little girl found his necklace high in the branches of Ghanima's tree. She saw him in her dreams and new exactly where to find the necklace. She was so much like Ghanima and Solas you would think she was their daughter instead of a long distant descendant being trained as Skyhold's Keeper.


End file.
